Category: 4. Technology

Yooka-Replaylee, , will be available on October 9. It’ll be playable on PC, Xbox Series X/S, PS5 and Switch 2. It’s getting both a digital and physical release, and preorders for the physical versions are up right now.

Speaking of physical copies, the Switch 2 version will include the full game on the cartridge and no game-key card. Nintendo has given developers the option to release cartridges that are basically empty shells, called game-key cards, that require an immediate download upon being slotted in the console. Collectors aren’t exactly keen on this practice, so an actual cartridge release for Yooka-Replaylee is a welcome bit of news.

This is a remade and enhanced version of Yooka-Laylee, which was itself an like Banjo-Kazooie. Developer Playtonic is staffed with people who worked on Rare titles like the aforementioned Banjo and the Donkey Kong Country games.

Yooka-Replaylee brings some new features to the table, including updated challenges, a fully orchestral soundtrack and, of course, more stuff to collect. There’s also a bigger map, a refined story and enhanced graphics. It looks pretty nifty.

The digital version of the game will cost $30, while physical copies will cost $50. There’s a promotion going for long-time fans, as those who already own the game will get 30 percent off so long as they buy the remaster on the same platform family as the original. This means Switch to Switch 2, PS4 to PS5 and Xbox One to Xbox Series X/S.

When Pocket shut down earlier this year, it hurt more than just folks who wanted to save articles easier. Kobo users could no longer read articles directly from the internet on their eReader — a devastating move for so many readers like myself.

Kobo recently announced it would replace Pocket with Instapaper, a minimalist and sleek service much like Pocket that offers both a free plan as well as a paid premium subscription option, saving us from having to read articles the second we see them. And, on Thursday, that update came to users.

“At Kobo, our passion is better reading for everyone, everywhere.  And now, with the addition of Instapaper’s excellent ‘read it later’ functionality, we have a perfect solution to the long-form reading you find on the web,” Michael Tamblyn, the CEO of Rakuten Kobo said in a press release on Thursday. “When Pocket unexpectedly sunset, we knew we had to find a new way for our readers to dive into their favourite web articles right on their Kobo. Partnering with Instapaper has been a dream, the team has been great to work with, and we’re thrilled to offer this integration so readers can keep enjoying their preferred long-form content, distraction-free, on their Kobo eReader.”

Here’s how to download articles directly from the internet onto your Kobo with Instapaper.

If there isn’t an option for you to view your articles when you click “more,” you’ll need to update your Kobo. It shouldn’t take too long, and when it starts back up it’ll show you exactly what the update is there for: “Farewell to Pocket,” and “Hello to Instapaper.”

If you want to keep all your data from Pocket on your Instapaper, you can do that, too. Simply export your Pocket data and import it to Instapaper.

Now there’s really no excuse to have that many tabs open.

In late September, Qualcomm will unveil its next-gen flagship chipset, the successor to the Snapdragon 8 Elite from last year. We’ve been tentatively calling this the Snapdragon 8 Elite 2, but today a new rumor out of China claims that might not be its name at all.

Instead, Qualcomm could opt for the initially much more confusing Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. There are two reasons for this, if it does pan out. First, while “Gen 5” sounds weird since the 8 Elite only came out last year, that chip was actually the successor to the 8 Gen 3 (so it’s “Gen 4” despite not being called that).

The other reason has to do with the much rumored fact that Qualcomm will release an almost-flagship chipset too this year, which it may call Snapdragon 8 Gen 5. This will sit right below the 8 Elite Gen 5, and with all this knowledge the naming does start to make more sense.

Note that the 8 Gen 5 is different from the 8s Gen 5, being higher-end than that while still not quite reaching the level of the 8 Elite Gen 5. Anyway, the 8 Elite Gen 5 was just benchmarked inside the upcoming OnePlus 15.

Source (in Chinese)

75% of Cyberpunk 2077‘s Nintendo Switch 2 sales were physical, CD Projekt has confirmed.

CD Projekt revealed the eye-catching stat in its latest financial results, confirming that not only did the action-RPG benefit from positioning itself as one of Nintendo Switch 2’s day-one launch games, but it also found success by making the game available as physical media.

“We believe that thanks to its high quality and Switch 2 exclusive enhancements, Cyberpunk 2077 Ultimate Edition is well positioned to benefit from the [Switch 2’s] growing user base,” said Michał Novakovski, joint CEO. “As of June, the vast majority of sales — which is around 70% — came from physical copies sold and that reflects the strength of our offering.”

Novakovski believes this is, in part, because “the entire game, along with its expansion, is fully contained on a 64 gigabyte cartridge, providing a plug and play experience which players find particularly attractive.” And that has certainly proven to be the case, with 75.4% of all Cyberpunk 2077’s Switch 2 sales being physical.

It comes as fans continue to debate the practice of publishers providing Game-Key Cards in Switch 2 boxed games instead of a physical cartridge. It’s proven to be a divisive practice among some users, not least because while it allows collectors to have a game’s box on their shelf, they’re essentially useless unless your console is connected to the internet.

The practice is so controversial, however, that Nintendo has launched a survey designed to poll the Switch 2 userbase on its thoughts surrounding digital and physical games, with questions designed to probe the reasons you might consider one option over another. Nintendo’s also interested in finding out if your attitude to digital downloads has shifted over time.

Nintendo Switch 2 Game Boxes